Formerly the non-partisan watchdog of the 2010 US Census, and currently an opinion blog that covers all things political, media, foreign policy, globalization, and culture…but sometimes returning to its census/demographics roots.

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Update on 2010 Census Media Campaign: October 15th Deadline

The 2010 Census will provide a once-in-a-decade snapshot of the nation’s population which is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The information collected during the census assists government leaders in making historic decisions, such as the apportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The data are also used to help distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds back to state and local governments each year. Information from the census is used to determine where to fund infrastructure projects such as roads, hospitals and schools.

The 2010 Census will be “short form-only.” In March, households will receive a form that asks just a few questions, such as number of people in household, race/ethnicity and age.

Announcement Letter: March 8th – March 10th

Initial mail out of form: March 15th – 17th

Replacement Questionnaire mailed: April 1st – April 10th

Reminder Postcard mailed: April 22nd – April 24th

In-home follow up to non-responders: May 1st – July 10th

In order to inform everyone about the 2010 Census and its importance, the U.S. Census Bureau has developed an integrated communications campaign (ICC) that includes paid media, earned media, a national partnership program and the Census in Schools program. The three goals of the ICC are:

Increasing mail response

Improving accuracy and reducing the differential undercount

Improving cooperation with enumerators

Our prime contractor, DraftFCB and their partner agencies have developed the Paid Media Plan, described in this document, to make the 2010 Census the most pervasive message everywhere, especially during the mail-out/mail-back phase in March and April 2010. The Plan was created with the work of eight partner media agencies, will encompass multiple languages and reach into every market across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Paid Media Plan Summary

The Paid Media Plan encompasses all media types and is skewed towards those segments of the populations that are considered hard to count (HTC; less likely to respond). The media habits and interests of these population groups drive when and where media will be purchased.

Paid media will be purchased for:

Television

Radio

Interactive

Outdoor & transit

Print (Newspaper and Magazines)

Paid media materials were developed in multiple languages to ensure that everyone is reached with relevant communications. DraftFCB, in concert with the partner agencies below, developed paid media plans designed to incite mass participation in the 2010 Census.

Mass audience, all English – DraftFCB

African-American/Black African/Caribbean/Haitian – GlobalHue

Hispanic (Spanish Language National) – GlobalHue Latino

Hispanic (Spanish Language Local)- d. Exposito & Partners

Asian – IW Group

American Indian/Alaska Native – G&G Advertising

Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander- G&G Advertising

Emerging Audiences (Russian, Polish and Arabic) – Allied Media Group

Puerto Rico – DraftFCB Puerto Rico

Local Market Coverage

National efforts will cover all the markets however specific local markets will be identified for incremental support designed to reach the Hard to Count populations as part of the RFP process.

May-June 2010 (Support census workers when they knock on doors of those households who did not return the census questionnaire. Also known as “non-response follow up)
Goal: encourage participation with the census workers

All target segments require awareness of Census benefits and prompting to participate, but specific communication strategies are needed to ensure highest participation levels.

Paid Media Buying Phases

2010 Census Paid Media negotiations will occur in two phases:

Census Upfront – Appropriate Contractors will negotiate multi-platform deals with large companies such as Time Warner, Disney ABC, etc. to negotiate the best pricing, placements and added value for the Campaign. These negotiations will begin in May because of the longer lead time needed to develop integrated programs and is in line with industry practice for national television negotiations.

All Other Media Buying – Given the number of potential media vendors, Contractors will begin their outreach efforts to solicit information starting in June. Negotiations and commitments for all other media such as “scatter” national TV, local TV and radio, magazines, newspaper, Internet and outdoor will not be finalized until October – November.

All media vendors will have a fair opportunity to submit proposals via a questionnaire (provided below). This questionnaire and other request for proposals will be part of the buying process. If you are interested in participating, please fill out the following questionnaire. The deadline to submit your information is: October 15, 2009.

Full disclosure: As the only private web site in the world that focuses its content on the 2010 Census, MyTwoCensus.com just applied to be a media partner with the 2010 Census, as this would satisfy our original stated goal of creating the most accurate 2010 Census possible, particularly because we trust this site as a source of information and ads more than we trust other media companies.